BILBAO: Kylian Mbappe delivered a standout performance with two goals and an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 on Wednesday to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to one point.
Madrid, winless in their previous three away league games, produced one of their sharpest displays of the season at San Mamés.
Mbappe opened the scoring in the seventh minute after latching onto a long pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who registered his first La Liga assist.
The visitors doubled their lead before the break when Mbappe headed Alexander-Arnold’s cross back across goal for Eduardo Camavinga to finish from close range.
Mbappe sealed the win in the second half with his 16th league goal of the campaign, a driven effort at the near post.
“I think the team played a complete game today… probably our best at a difficult place,” coach Xabi Alonso said, while cautioning that injuries to Alexander-Arnold and Camavinga were the lone setbacks from the night.
Athletic threatened sporadically, but Thibaut Courtois produced several key stops to preserve Madrid’s clean sheet. – AFP
